Now That Your Baby's Mobile: Baby Proofing Your Home

Once your baby starts crawling, you need to be baby proofed and ready! Here are some tips I learned on keeping my baby safe while exploring the world of our home.

Assess your home. It went without saying that sharp or breakable objects needed to be placed higher, out of baby’s reach, and anything with sharp edges needed padding. But we found an adults-eye view wasn’t thorough enough. We got down on the floor at our baby’s level to assess what needed to be done.

Power outlets. My husband and I went all around our house and covered the electrical outlets. We could choose from a range of covers -- they come in clear, sliding, and swing-shut options.

Install latches. Anything smaller than a toilet paper roll can be a choking hazard, and babies love to put things in their mouths, so we added a safety latch to every drawer and cupboard throughout the house to keep our curious baby out.

Baby gates. We installed baby gates to restrict our baby’s access to stairs and areas like the kitchen that couldn’t be closed off with doors.

Secure furniture. Our TV was on a low table, so we secured it to the wall. We did the same with our bookshelves. This was particularly important for us when our baby started pulling herself up on furniture when she was learning to stand.

Ties on blinds. My husband and I were sure to use cord shorteners to keep the blind cords out of reach. We also made sure to not place our baby’s crib near any windows.

Christine Knight is an Australian expat and mother of one enthusiastic toddler. Now living in Brooklyn, NY, she is co-founder of brunchwithmybaby.com, a site dedicated to helping parents navigate the NYC and Sydney food scenes with their offspring.

Christine Knight

Our parenting advice is given as suggestions only. We recommend you also consult your healthcare provider, and urge you to contact them immediately if your question is urgent or about a medical condition.